| The subject of this article pertains to the canon of the Forrest Gump film but not the novel. |
Wesley is an antagonist in the movie Forrest Gump. He is Jenny Curran's abusive boyfriend and is played by Geoffrey Blake in the movie.
Overview[]
When Forrest and Jenny are reunited in Washington D.C., she takes him to a Black Panther Party meeting and introduces him to her boyfriend Wesley, whom she lived with in Berkeley, California, and who is the president of Berkeley's Students for a Democratic Society chapter. Forrest, while being forcefully lectured by a Black Panther member about the party's ideology, witnesses Wesley and Jenny talking, and then Wesley hits Jenny to the ground, much to Forrest's shock. Angered by this, Forrest immediately runs and tackles Wesley then begins punching him, until Jenny intervenes and pulls Forrest away.
The next day, when Jenny is leaving, Wesley meets her at her bus. Wesley apologizes to Jenny, blaming his behavior on his anger toward the Vietnam War and Lyndon Johnson. Forrest angrily says that Jenny "should go back to Greenbow, Alabama!" Then, Jenny and Forrest exchange goodbyes, with Forrest giving her his Medal of Honor, citing Jenny as the reason why he got it ("I got it just by doing what you told me to do."). Jenny hugs him, and then goes to get on the bus with Wesley. While Wesley gets on, Forrest glares at him.
Jenny later revealed that some point after returning to California, she broke up with Wesley. She then started dating a musician. However, when he slapped her at a New Years' Eve party in 1972, Jenny knew this was going to be a bad relationship and immediately left the new boyfriend.